Friday, June 6, 2008 – 29.26 miles, 2:09:27, 13.56 MPH average

Biking Across Kansas started, as it did for many participants, with a long bus ride across Kansas.

My wife dropped us (myself and a friend, Reed) off in Lenexa at 6:00am on Friday morning. The night had been stormy, but by morning the skies had mostly cleared, and it was cool and the roads were still wet. We got checked in, got the bikes loaded onto the truck, and the bags and ourselves loaded onto the bus, and it was off by about 7:00am.

Boarding the bus in Lenexa
Boarding the bus in Lenexa

After stops to pick up more riders in Lawrence, Topeka, and Manhattan, we stopped for lunch in Salina, then for a quick pit stop in Oakley, before arriving in Saint Francis around 4:30pm.

After checking in, setting up our tents, and retrieving the bikes, we changed into cycling gear for the run to the border.

It turned out to be a very tough 14.5 miles, seemingly uphill all the way, and into a stiff and gusty 15-25 MPH southwesterly wind. The terrain here was flattish in places, but rugged in others. There were almost no trees, of course, but there was pastureland, row crops, and very gentle, but very long, hills.

Riding to the Colorado Border
Riding to the Colorado Border

With the uphill tilt to the land, and the relentless wind, the border seemed to take forever to arrive, but once there we took the obligatory pictures and headed back, making good time with the now-friendly tailwind.

At the Colorado Border
At the Colorado Border

Arriving back in Saint Francis, we were too late for the BAK kickoff meeting, so we stopped at the Dairy King for beer and pizza. Normally, I’m not much of a drinker, but after the tiring ride, we quickly consumed a pitcher of Bud Light, and decided to add a second BAK to our itinerary: Beer Across Kansas.

Back at the campsite, we settled into our tents, eagerly anticipating the official start in the morning.

I awoke once during the night, and stepped out into the clear and crisp darkness, with an amazing canopy of stars and the Milky Way clearly visible overhead. This was a far clearer vision of the night sky than I see in rural Johnson County, and it was simply stunning. Glorious!